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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Jihadi John's father: No proof my son is 'Jihadi John'

According to British media man who says he's Mohammed Emwazi's father has reportedly said there is
no proof that his son is the masked ISIS killer known as "Jihadi John."

"There
is nothing that proves what is being circulated in the media,
especially through video clips and footage, that the accused is my son Mohammed, who is being referred to as the alleged executioner" of ISIS, Jassem Emwazi told the Kuwaiti newspaper al Qabas.

Jassem Emwazi said there are only "false rumors" circulating about his son.

The
elder Emwazi told the newspaper he has hired an attorney. The lawyer,
Kuwait-based Salem Al-Hashash, told CNN on Tuesday that he was
representing Jassem Emwazi and planned to file lawsuits against anyone
who has claimed that Mohammed Emwazi is Jihadi John.

The lawyer called the father a "victim of libel" and said that he would soon hold a news conference.

Last
week, two U.S. officials and two U.S. congressional sources confirmed
to CNN that "Jihadi John" is Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Londoner.

Jassem Emwazi's statements to al Qabas appear to contradict reports this week that his wife recognized Jihadi
John's voice as her son's when she saw footage that shows the man,
whose face is covered, brandishing a knife and threatening ISIS
hostages.

Emwazi told British newspaper The Guardian that the stories about the couple recognizing the voice were false.

"Lie, lie, lie," he reportedly said.

Mohammed
Emwazi was born in Kuwait in 1988 and moved to the United Kingdom with
his parents and sister when he was six, according to CAGE, an advocacy
group for people suspected of involvement in terrorism. CAGE interacted
with Emwazi before he joined the terror group, a member has said.

CAGE released a recording last week that
it said it taped of Mohammed Emwazi in 2009. In that recording, Emwazi
is heard talking about been questioned by British intelligence service
regarding a July 2005 terror attack in London.

The family lived in this £1.4m apartment in Maida Vale, north London, from 2005 to 2007

Before that, the family lived for two years at a a £600,000 apartment near Lord’s Cricket Ground

The family claimed asylum in the UK and won refugee status in 1996,
after fleeing from Kuwait in 1994. Pictured: Their council flat from
1999 to 2003

They fled Kuwait after the first Gulf War, claiming persecution because
they were seen to favour the Iraqi invasion in 1990. Pictured: Their
first three-bedroom flat from 1996 to 1999 in Little Venice

Two more of
the five owners of homes they have lived in have confirmed their rent
was paid by the council or through a housing association.

Assuming the same £23,400-a-year cost, then the bill over 20 years is £468,000.

Emwazi’s father Jasem, 51, and his wife Ghaneya brought their family – including Mohammed, then aged six – to Britain in 1994.

The
couple successfully argued that because they are ‘Bedoon’ – stateless
people denied citizenship by Kuwait – they should be granted asylum. The
award of British citizenship allowed the whole family to make regular
trips back to Kuwait.

During
their time in Britain, neither Jasem nor Ghaneya officially worked,
although the owner of one of their homes alleges Mr Emwazi was working
on the side for cash in hand.

Records
show the family were first placed in a three-bedroom apartment – now
worth £900,000 – in Little Venice before moving to a £1million terraced
home. The £1,950-a-month rent was covered by Westminster City Council,
according to the property’s owner.

The
house had to be turned from four bedrooms to five to accommodate the
growing family, whose four-year stay cost taxpayers about £93,600 in
rent alone.

Despite
the huge outlay, Mr Emwazi tried to buy the home for £300,000 – even
though it was worth double this at the time. The owner had no idea how
he had the cash to make the offer, which was declined.

The
Emwazis were then moved to a £600,000 apartment near Lord’s Cricket
Ground, which was rented through Network Housing Group, and then on to a
£1.4million apartment in Maida Vale.

Eventually,
they settled in a £600,000 flat in upmarket Queen’s Park. The family has
lived there for the past eight years and the owner told the Mail it is
still rented to them.

With
a 12-year-old daughter, Hana, they are still believed to be claiming an
estimated £7,821 a year in child benefits and child tax credits.

That
is on top of annual claims of about £23,400 in housing benefit, £678 in
council tax support and £5,929 in jobseeker’s allowance.

Their
daughter Shayma, 23, is thought to be studying at Brunel University
London, for which she is entitled to a grant of £3,387.

Sithy Hussain, 65, owns the £1million home in Little Venice and told the Mail that Mr Emwazi was an ‘aggressive sod’.

She
added: ‘They were parasites. He was the tenant from hell. The rent went
up to £450 a week and it was paid from housing benefits. They didn’t
pay one penny.

‘They
stayed for a few years and there were problems. They had to have
another room because they had another child and they had the locks
changed.’

Yesterday, a lawyer for Mr Emwazi insisted he returned to Kuwait from Britain last November and did not work in the Gulf state.

In sickening propaganda videos, his son led the beheadings of Britons Alan Henning and David Haines.